13.1 Mile Pain Cave

It's been a really long time since I've attempted to PR in the half marathon. My best time comes from the 3M half marathon back in January 2013. I ran it in 1:51:36 and it was a fantastic race day for me, with cold temps and a tailwind on a net downhill course. After running a 3:49 marathon last year, I knew that it was time to go for a better half marathon time, especially since the second half of my last two marathons has been around 1:54.

I had hoped to run my next half in October '18 in Houston, but injury prevented that from happening. Instead I'd be running a Houston Half in January, one that I had run before. It's a big race, a fast course, and probably the most well organized race I've done. I was looking forward to it!

Because of the injury back in September, I only ran 29 miles into October. I managed to have good training months in November and December, but I was wary of a lot of speed work. Not exactly a high volume few months of training prior to my attempt, but it was all I had so I did my best. Honestly, I was questioning whether I had gotten into good enough shape. I not only wanted to run a new PR, I really wanted to break 1:50. That would require an 8:23 pace, and based on how my tempo runs had felt, I knew holding that pace for 13 miles was going to be tough for me. But I had to try!

If there's one thing I've learned in the last 18 months, is that I am stronger than my brain thinks I am, and I can often push myself pretty hard. I figured the worst thing that could happen was I'd slow down towards the end, but I needed to do my best to lock into a fast pace and hold on as long as I could.

My friend and teammate Drew was supposed to run the full marathon, but decided to downgrade to the half and didn't feel comfortable racing it as he felt he had not put in adequate training leading up to the race. He knew how badly I wanted to run a good race, and since 1:50 is a fairly easy pace for him, he offered to run with me. Needless to say, I was thrilled. I knew he'd yell at me to keep up with him and it would probably be what I needed in those last miles.

I arrived in Houston nice and early on Saturday and headed right for the expo to browse. I love the expo at this race. I was by myself, which is weird for me, but a few of my friends had bailed out of the race and the others were coming to Houston later in the day. While I was browsing the booths, there was an announcement that Meb Kefleghizi would be signing at the Aramco booth, so I hightailed it over there and figured I'd get in line and have him sign my bib. I have never met Meb but he's been a huge inspiration to me over the years and I credit his outlook on life and willingness to share his journey with us as part of the reason that I love to run. He has so much joy about it, and his win at Boston in 2014 is one of my favorite running highlights of all time.

Getting to chat with him for a few minutes was just AMAZING. He's so sweet and he thought it was pretty cool it was my birthday. I told him he inspired me to try to get to Boston and that my husband and I were going to both be running it. He signed my bib and wished me well on getting a PR on my birthday. Also, I can't believe I'm shorter than him....the dude is tiny!

A little bit of rest at the hotel and dinner with my friends, where we enjoyed some great food and wine and discussed race strategy, and then it was time to sleep. I was freaking nervous as hell.

Race morning was COLD. 32 degrees out with 10 mph winds made it feel like 26 degrees. I was bundled up okay, but it was just cold out. I don't know what the deal is with my long distance races being freezing, but my last three have started out below freezing. Better than it being warm, I suppose!

My friends and I lined up by the 8:30 pace people in the corral. Along with Drew, I was starting the race with Amit and Melody, who were both registered for the full. We all planned to run about the same pace, so running together until the split right before 8 miles seemed like a pretty good plan.

The start was so crowded. Even though we were in the first corral, we were pretty far back in it and there were so many people to get through. Instead of weaving, however, I just tried to be patient. Unfortunately because it's Houston and there are so many tall buildings, the GPS is not reliable for that first part of the race. We were right by the 3:35 marathon pacer, so I assumed we were probably running a decent pace. I wanted to be around 8:40-8:50. When my watch beeped at the mile 1 sign and said 9:11, I was slightly freaked out. It felt like a sub-9 mile....that can't be good.

I immediately sped up and got into a more difficult pace and my watch was registering that lap as around 8:30 average pace. Much better. We ended up running Mile 2 in 8:25. Back on track, because I had expected to be at about 17:30 after two miles. My plan was to increase my speed slowly in the first few miles and then lock into a pace just under 8:20 to hold for as long as possible, and then hopefully surge in the last 3 miles. I like to run negative splits in a longer race, and because there was no room for a real warm up before this race, I knew running a negative split would be best for me. I needed those first few miles to ease into a good pace.

BUT....that's not exactly how we did it. I sped up in Mile 3 a bit more than I thought I had and it clocked in at 8:16. Okay, well now the plan was to NOT SLOW DOWN. Hold as many miles at that pace or faster as I could.

The 5K split came up at 26:58, pretty much right where I wanted to be. That first mile wasn't going to totally mess me up after all. The first half wasn't particularly easy for me, but it was good enough to not completely freak me out. The 10K was in 52:42, still on target. I had run mile 6 too fast (at 8:06) so I eased off in mile 7 and ran 8:21.

One of the most humbling parts about this race was to witness the participation of athletes with disabilities. On two occasions we were passed by guided athletes. And by passed, I mean that they FLEW by us. One gentleman was an amputee. The other was blind and deaf...yes, blind AND deaf. Just imagine that for a moment. I remember thinking that if these guys refused to let their physical limitations hold them back, then I certainly could suck it up and perform at my very best.

Less than a 10K to go at this point. I was still running with Amit and Drew, but we hadn't seen Melody since those first couple miles. Amit kept looking back for her, but didn't see her. He made the decision before the split for the full and half runners to just stay with us and DQ his marathon race. He wasn't prepared as well as he had hoped for the distance and he was enjoying running with us. I think if he'd seen Melody he may have stuck with her, however. We come to find out after the race that she was a few seconds behind us the whole time!

So, if I were to be honest with myself, I was starting to freak out a little after 7 miles. I was at about 8:25 average pace, so well on my way to breaking 1:50 if I didn't implode. But I did NOT feel great. This pace was tough and the fitness I lost while injured was obvious to me. It was still the fastest 7 miles I had ever run, so I did take joy in that.

I thought about a lot of different things in order to tap into some mental toughness. The pace wasn't so hard that I couldn't keep running it, but I had to shut my doubts off so my body wouldn't give into them. I thought about the last miles of my BQ marathons, and how I remained strong despite running paces I had never run at that distance. I thought about how it really wasn't very many more miles that I needed to run, and that I was well over halfway done. I thought about the hot coffee at the finish and the hot shower I couldn't wait to take. Miles were still coming in at 8:15 range, like clockwork. As a matter of fact, my second and third 5K splits were identical, at 25:45.

Drew and Amit were doing a fantastic job of chatting with me, of building me up, of reminding me I was going to PR, and all the things great friends and pacers do to keep a runner on target. I honestly don't think I'd be running 8:15 miles if it weren't for them.

During miles 9 and 10, we had to turn into a cold headwind, but I was expecting it, and Drew reminded me that I was entering what would be the hardest part of the race and that I couldn't slow down. He just needed me to hold on for another 30 minutes and I'd blow my PR out of the water. All I could think was CRAP, another 30 minutes of this? Good grief, this was HARD.

I think miles 9-11 were probably the most difficult of this entire race. But then when you hit 11 miles, you turn east and head towards downtown and the finish. It goes by fast, and it's ONLY two more miles. 16-17 more minutes. I could do this for another 16 minutes. I could even slow down a little and still break 1:50, and I most definitely could PR. So I got a little excited once we passed the 11 mile marker.

I thought I was possibly slowing down but I focused solely on staying right next to Drew and letting him pull me into a fast enough pace. Mile 12 came in at 8:06, so somehow I had sped up. Drew shouted to me with a lot of excitement that I had sped up and that was awesome. Dude is a fantastic cheerleader. He missed his calling.

With only 1.1 miles to go, less than 2 kilometers, I really had nothing to lose but completely give into the pain cave and run my damn heart out. Only, what I hoped would be more like a 7:30-7:40 final mile wasn't really happening. I tried to speed up, but I didn't really feel like I was speeding up a whole lot. Because we were now entering the heart of downtown, I couldn't rely on the GPS pace, but rather just had to look at my watch at the mile marker. At the 20K marker, I was at 1:44:07. We had run the 4th 5K in 25:41...talk about consistent! I knew that if I was at 1:44 at the 20K point, then I would break 1:50. I could not slow down at all now. My watch beeped before the 13 mile marker (but we had added some distance on over the course of the race, close to a 10th of a mile, so I knew my miles were not exact to the course miles). It showed an 8:01. A part of me was slightly peeved that I was that close to a sub-8, but I also knew that it probably wasn't particularly accurate in downtown.

Regardless, it was only a small distance to run at this point. I ran as fast as I could and managed to squeak out a 6:59 final pace over the last 0.19 miles (according to my GPS). The last 1.1 kilometers of the race was officially in 7:49 pace.

I crossed the finish line with a time of 1:49:26. Our tangent running was pretty decent, with my Garmin showing a distance of 13.19. A half marathon in 1:49:26 is an 8:21 pace overall. I had beat my 6 year-old PR by 2:10!

I was beaten up, though! This race definitely tested my physical strength and mental strength. To feel like it was that difficult with 10K to go was a hard feeling to shake. When my quads started feeling sore at 15K, it made it even harder to keep up the pace. Thank God for the second wind when we made the turn at 11 miles. It wasn't easier to run, but my mind became sharper and more focused. The screaming crowds in the last kilometer made it a bit easier as well. Houston crowds are AWESOME.

I'm a stats geek, and I love to see how I place amongst my competitors. I am so pleased with my placing in Houston, considering it attracts a lot of serious talent.

Meeting my goal feels so fantastic, and it gives me an idea of where I'm at with regards to Boston Marathon training. I think my 1:49 shows me right at BQ shape provided I continue to run well and at high volume in training. I'd love to say that I'm easily in BQ shape, but I'm not there yet. This race also gives me a better idea of where my training paces should be right now. I got right back into it this week with a lot of easy paced miles. It was a bit of awkward running on Tuesday, my first run back, because of my fatigue but my legs felt much better after working out the lactic acid. I ended up with nearly 40 miles this week, all easy paced, but my 16 miler Sunday was the longest distance since September and I ran much of it under 9:45 pace while still keeping the effort low. That's a great sign a week after an all-out half marathon effort!

Boston is only 11 weeks away now, so my build will be starting soon. I'm feeling pretty great!

Getting back to normal

It's been over 3 months since I hurt myself. I was supposed to run California International Marathon last month, and I'm pretty damn bummed out. The weather, of course, was perfect and I think I could've run a PR race and secured a 2020 BQ. But alas, I had to skip it. I deferred it to next year and am already looking forward to it. I'm slowly working my voodoo magic to get Greg to commit to running it with me.

So where am I now?

Getting back to normal! It was a slow mileage buildup and I'm finally no longer wary of speed. I'm busting my butt as much as I can to get back into shape while still being cognizant of my hamstring. It'll be awhile before I'm back to pre-injury cardiovascular endurance shape, but I will get there. I closed out November with 113 miles and December with 152 miles. Those are pretty big numbers considering I only ran 29 miles in October. December was my third highest mileage month of 2018. I'm up to 40 weekly running miles, with 5 or 6 days of running. Considering I used to top out around 40-45 miles for marathons a few years ago, I'd say I'm doing well with 14 weeks of training to go. In my peak week I'll be at 60 miles, which is plenty for me.

In a little over two weeks I will be running my first half marathon since 2017 and the first time in six years that I will legitimately try to run a personal best. I had hoped to PR during my 2017-2018 marathon training cycle, but bad weather convinced me to turn a planned race into a good training run. Houston is usually pretty good on weather in January so I'm hoping for the same. It will also be my first race in my new 45-49 age group!

As the Boston Marathon gets closer, I'm getting more and more excited. A very close friend of mine who was my running buddy until she moved to the Boston suburbs is going to be running it as well. I'm hoping for some pre-race Athlete Village shenanigans before the super fun sufferfest begins. Yes, I said "super fun sufferfest." It's a thing and people like us love it. I even bought my very first Boston 2019 running gear.

This coming Sunday will be my longest training run since September, at 15 miles. This past Sunday I ran 14 miles with 5 of them at marathon pace. My pace miles were not as speedy as I had hoped, but they were still close to BQ pace, I felt great so I didn't push it any harder, I ran them in one 5 mile set, and considering I was running in 35 degree drizzle, I'm quite happy that I managed a solid training run at my longest distance in this new training cycle. It helped that the husband met me at mile 8 to run the remaining miles with me.

On the non-running front, I've been reflecting a lot on 2018 and how it differed from 2017. I felt a lot more peace this past year than I have in a long time. My daughter, who has battled depression and anxiety and has been in treatment for three years, seems to have turned a big corner. She will be turning 14 next month, and with that maturity and a change in schools for 8th grade, she seems much happier with herself. She has a newfound confidence that is beautiful to witness. She has learned to play the violin and ukelele, has been singing a lot, is continuing her incredible journey as a talented artist, and is enjoying her theater class. Her talents in the arts really blow me away and I'm thrilled she has found the right outlets to gain confidence in herself. It hasn't been perfect. As anyone who battles mental illness, it's not linear. There are ups and downs and really terrible days. But overall, upon reflecting on the year as a whole, I'd say she's made great strides.

As for me, as I alluded to in my last blog post, my eyes have been opened to many things that I was previously trying to bury because I just couldn't deal well with them. I have a new confidence in myself similar to my daughter's. I am more in tune with protecting my happiness and what that entails. I have let go of so much negativity and it's a refreshing change. My relationship with my husband of nearly 20 years has grown and as we enter this milestone year, I feel more than ever that we are on the right page with our values and our future dreams. Learning to live with someone and committing to that for a lifetime, despite ups and downs and frustrations, is rare in today's world. He's my best friend and I'm going to keep him!

I am continuing to pursue the things that I love. Besides running, I am doing some home remodeling. My newest project is repainting my kitchen cabinets, a huge endeavour but one that is actually pretty fun to tackle. If I am going to continue to be the stay-at-home parent, then it's important that I find ways to be productive and save our family money, and I enjoy the challenge of teaching myself how to do this stuff well.

On the exercise front, I'm thankful that I found a good therapy outlet with running, as this works well for me to navigate life's stressors. I was talking to a friend yesterday about marathon training and how, while I prefer the half marathon distance, committing to 26.2 is better for my mental health. It requires a focus and commitment that is very different from 13.1. I enjoy the challenge, I prefer something that requires such a high level of commitment and focus, and that's why it's become my go-to distance these last couple years. There will always been something magical and exhilarating about completing a 3-hour training run and about crossing the finish line after racing 26.2 miles.

I've been constructing my race plans through 2020 and I think I'm in for a whole lot of fun. Besides Boston and CIM this year, I'm planning to attend the Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta next year. I watched them in Houston in 2012 and it was incredibly fun and inspiring to witness. I want to add another marathon besides Atlanta (it will be held the day after the Trials), and Chicago is on my mind. But I'm still open to other ideas for a fall race. I've run 10 Texas marathons, so at this point I prefer traveling to other parts of this beautiful country. There are so many great races and places to visit that I need to branch out and experience them!

So, on this 2nd day of 2019, I have a lot of hope, peace, and love. May it continue throughout the year for me, my family, and my loved ones.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit

- Romans 15:13

Defining a Different Goal

I'm so glad that as far as injuries go, mine is pretty minor. I didn't tear anything (we don't think), I don't need surgery, it's not going to keep me sedentary for long. Unfortunately, pulling your hamstring isn't a quick fix, so it certainly derailed my training considering it happened in my build up before my December 2 marathon. I could have continued to train through it, but it would be with pain on every run and it could have led to a torn hamstring, which is a brutal injury. Rather than being dumb, I chose to be extremely cautious and totally stopped running. In the past four weeks, I have only run four times. The first run a few days after the injury was a test run and with it came pain in every step. It gave me a lot of good data to pass on to my doctor, however, so it wasn't without positives. I tried again weekend before last but within a few minutes I knew it would be a very short run. Then this past weekend I finally feel like I had a breakthrough, with a good 3 mile run with minimal pain, and then a four mile run with no pain this morning (although my hamstring is a little bit achy afterwards). My last real quality run was on September 25 and I've missed 200 miles of training runs.

I have focused on physical therapy, upper body strength, core strength, and have thrown in a little swimming. I never really knew how difficult being sedentary would be for me, but I don't do well without a physical activity routine and the mental health therapy that goes along with the long hours of running. It's a part of me. I don't subscribe to the "running is life" mantra that a lot of endurance athletes tout on social media, but I really do miss it. I'm glad that I have other activities that I can do, although the hours of cardiovascular work can't be duplicated. My endurance gains are definitely going to be gone by the time I get back into it! My four miler this morning wasn't all that easy compared to pre-injury days.

So how does my leg feel? I was surprised that I didn't feel my hamstring during my run today. I'm expecting a little discomfort as it continues to heal. There is tightness in my posterior chain and that will need to be continually worked on. I am acutely aware of any twinge that I feel. Thankfully I have so many exercises that I can do to work on my deficiencies and I am doing them every single day.

So now that I have had to defer my October 28 half marathon and December 2 marathon, I will need to forge a new path to Boston on April 15. Now that I know I'm okay to start regularly running, I will need to rewrite my training plan and basically start from scratch. I'm hoping I will see some glimmer of leftover cardiovascular endurance soon. It's crazy how fast we can lose that fitness, however. I won't be running consecutive days for a little bit longer, and I need to build up my weekly mileage slowly.

In 13 weeks I have the Aramco Houston Half Marathon. That should be plenty of time for me to get into shape to race and I absolutely LOVE that race. I have several friends racing both the half and the full so I expect it to be lots of fun. Twelve weeks later is Marathon #15!!

I'm a believer in things happening like they should no matter how painful the path may become. I made it to Boston by a mere 15 seconds, it will be 15 months between marathons for me, it will be my 15th marathon, and it's on the 15th of April. I'll take a 15 second PR that day! Or maybe it'll be 15 degrees out? (only if it's 15 Celsius) Yes, I know I'm weird.

Big Fat Change of Plans

You know what sucks? Bad news on top of bad news.

So....I'm injured. I pulled my hamstring....and did quite a number on it. If you've ever pulled your hamstring you know that the recovery time pretty much sucks and it's a long process. It can plague you for MONTHS if you don't let it properly heal. There's a small possibility there's a small tear in it (not likely) but the treatment is the same regardless. REST. REST. REST.

I've battled with my head repeatedly in the last week on whether I'm going to fight through this, hope to be back to running sooner rather than later, and still be able to salvage my 2018 racing season.

Yeah....NOPE.

I'm going to rip the bandaid off and say that I'm officially out of the Houston Half Marathon and the California International Marathon. In reality, I need to absolutely rest my hamstring if I want it to be back to normal in time to ramp up my training again for the Boston Marathon. Fighting through this is simply not worth it when I look at the big picture. CIM is only 61 days away. I simply do not have the time to rest and then be back in the right shape to run a good marathon. I do not want to toe the line just to finish this race and then potentially be back at square one because I re-injure myself.

On the bright side, I can defer both races to 2019 for a minimal charge. The husband *may* even have said something about "should we run CIM together next year?" I may hold him to that!

It was a super crappy week last week, first with me getting injured and seeing just how serious it was, and then finding out the cut-off for Boston was 4:52, leaving Greg off the official entry list. What a freaking rollercoaster of crap.

The good news is that I booked flights on points, so it's easy to cancel. My hotel can be canceled for no penalty. Even better? We are actually heading to that area two weeks before CIM because a friend is getting married (best news I've gotten in the past week!!). So while I'm canceling one flight, I'm booking another! I can still hopefully squeeze in a little time with the friends I'm not able to see for CIM.

Even better news? I just happened to look at flights for Boston. They were so stupid unbelievably cheap that I booked those, too. I was flight booking crazy this morning.

This is not how I envisioned ending 2018. I was having a pretty great training season, despite being sick of the icky weather. I felt strong and was very much looking forward to running a race like California International Marathon. I wanted to requalify for Boston with the new, tightened 2020 standards. I wanted to test my speed on 10/28 in a half marathon in Houston. I was even going to race a 10 miler this coming weekend. It's hard to let go of three races just like that.

I still have the Aramco Houston Half Marathon on January 20 to look forward to. That was my "A race" half marathon anyway. I should be well on my way to being back to normal by then if I play my cards right now.

Excitement for 2018

I am equal parts TOTALLY EXCITED and TOTALLY TERRIFIED!

And I love to have that reaction when I finalize my race calendar.

I went back and forth on whether or not I want to do another marathon before Boston 2019, but truth be told, no way can I wait that long to toe the line at 26.2 again. Nope, can't do it.

Marathon #15 will be California International Marathon in Sacramento on December 2 and I couldn't be happier about choosing that race. I really feel like I can run another Boston Qualifier and an even better one than the one I turned out in Baton Rouge this year. I have a goal brewing in the back of my mind and I'm excited to get to work on it. I have to be patient...but the wheels are turning already!

My endurance running race calendar is complete (I think?):

October 28 - Houston Half Marathon
December 2 - California International Marathon
January 20 - Aramco Houston Half Marathon
April 15 - Boston Marathon (please please please let BQ-minus-5:07 be enough to get in)

I am traveling for every single one. Does traveling 3 hours away to Houston count as traveling? It's only one night away from home, so I'll consider that pseudo-travel. Hotels are booked for the first three races...all of them right by the start lines. I feel totally comfortable with how everything is panning out.

Seriously, I am SO EXCITED about racing CIM. It's a net downhill course (but not as much as Boston), the weather is typically pretty good, it attracts a lot of really fast runners, and it's a top Boston Qualifier. While I do love the appeal of small marathons, sometimes you need to throw yourself in amongst thousands upon thousands of runners. I have friends that live in the Sacramento area and I'm hoping for the chance to see them as well.

I also realized that this will be the 5th capital city I will have run in. I've run races in D.C., Baton Rouge, Austin, and Nashville so far. I think that's pretty cool.

If things go as I hope they will in Sacramento, then I have an even bigger goal for Boston. I feel like I need to take advantage of where my fitness is at right now, build upon it, and really see what I can do over the course of the year. My tempo runs and speedwork have been spectacular lately. I've been running my fastest tempos ever and I am getting more comfortable on the track. I feel like my "run slow to run faster" approach worked beautifully for me this last year, so I'll continue to train like that. I just bought two of Matt Fitzgerald's books so I can continue my quest to learn as much about effective marathon training as possible. The 80/20 training method is similar to how I approached training, but with what seems like even more easy running and even bigger volume. Matt Fitzgerald explains that we are no doubt running less than 80% of our volume at a truly easy pace and that if we shift that percentage to where it should be, we'll improve our speed significantly. This is a great thing, because like I said....I HAVE BIG GOALS! 

The other book discusses the mental training necessary to be a successful marathon runner. It's never a bad thing to get mentally tougher, and vital to what I want to do.

One of my friends sent me a link to a TED talk by Eduardo Briceno titled "How to get better at things you care about." IT WAS AWESOME. He explains the difference between the Learning Zone and the Performance Zone. The most successful people (no matter what it is that they're trying to get better at) spend a lot of time in the learning zone, "doing activities designed for improvement, concentrating on what we haven't mastered yet, which means we have to expect to make mistakes, knowing that we will learn from them." We break down our abilities into components, subskills, etc, going just beyond our comfort zone until we master it. Practicing in the learning zone leads to substantial improvement, but we can't get complacent or our performance will plateau. We build our skills in the learning zone, and then apply them in the performance zone. But in order to spend more time in the learning zone, we have to do a number of things....believe we can improve, have a purpose we care about, have an idea about how to improve (deliberate practice), and not be afraid to make mistakes. Our society cultivates an attitude that we must be in the performance zone constantly (think of how schools approach teaching with letter grades and a narrow focus on what the right answer should be....versus exploring a wider thought process and giving feedback for revision and improvement). If we are afraid to get outside our comfort zone and try new things, even if we fail, we struggled, plateau, or fall behind.

It really was fascinating to listen to. I really do want to spend a lot of this year learning as much as I can about how to improve, focus on those little subskills until I can master them, pushing myself just outside my comfort zone until it becomes comfortable, and then gauging my success in the performance zone at the races I've chosen. 


Until then, however, it's all about my husband. He has his first marathon coming up in less than 5 months and he's working hard already at getting fit enough to run fast enough for a BQ. His checkpoint half marathon is on April 22, and while it might be hideously warm since it's here in Central Texas, it will still be a great gauge of his fitness before embarking upon the final three months of marathon training. We have three other friends planning on running his pace at that race (including one of the official pacers) so he will be in good company. I think the two books I bought will also serve the husband well. He has seen me train hard and knows what it takes, but I'd like him to soak up all the knowledge he can. I have no doubt about his speed. I want to make sure his mind is as strong as his body is going to be. I'm also getting super jealous of how fast he can run.

In the next 6 weeks I have three races...Texas Independence Relay on March 24-25, Cap10K on April 8, and the Wine and Roses 5K on April 22. Then I can relax a bit before real training begins in July. But these races (provided the weather isn't horribly atrocious) should give me an idea on my fitness before the awful summer months. Seriously excited about what is in store!

Race Calendar+Goals+Pride

After the excitement of finishing my marathon season, it's been nice to take the pressure off myself a bit and just get back to enjoying running and thinking of future goals. There was a restlessness, however, that was eating at me and I knew I needed to get serious about picking out some races leading up to Boston 2019.

Since my half split times in both marathons were some of my fastest half marathons ever, I knew it would serve me well to focus more on that distance. Before these marathons, I hadn't run a sub-2 hour half since 2014, and my PR of 1:51:36 is now five years old. I have a big goal that I'm eyeing in Boston (provided, of course, that my 5:07 buffer is sufficient and I get in, and if the weather cooperates), and I'd like to get in some tune up races well before the buildup to Boston.

So I have picked two half marathons so far, both in Houston, but on two totally different courses. The Houston Half is on October 28 and is on a looped course through downtown and on Allen Parkway and Memorial Drive. It's a great section of Houston to run and I'm excited about it. It's easy to travel to Houston and it's on a Sunday so I don't have to disrupt our family schedule by having to travel on a Friday. It's not a huge race as far as big city races go (less than 4000 finishers in 2017). At first I was going to run a Shreveport half marathon that weekend, but it's on Saturday and a couple hours further away than Houston. Houston Half just seemed better logistically. Besides, it was only $50!

The second half I'm signed up for is Aramco Half, which coincides with Chevron Houston Marathon in January. I've run this race five times so far, four marathon distance and one half distance. Four out of five times the weather has been great so I'm hoping for that good luck to continue. I love this race for so many reasons. The organization can't be beat, it finishes at the convention center so you get to be inside after the race, the course is great, and the crowd support is the best I've experienced so far. The 2019 race will be my first race in my new 45-49 age group. It comes three months before Boston, so perfect timing to gauge my fitness and figure out where I need improvement before I build up for April 15. I'm hoping that my time qualifier is fast enough to get me in A corral (that's a big deal in a huge race like Houston)...but I think it will. Fingers crossed. This Houston race will really be a big goal race for me, provided the October race goes well and I can still see ways for further improvement.

I'm not sure how much I'm really going to talk about my specific marathon and half marathon time goals. I haven't told anyone beyond the husband what they are, and they frighten me a little. But if I learned anything from 2017 and my two marathons, is that I am perfectly capable of the hard work and discipline that is required for lofty goals, so why stick to the same when I have the potential to be even faster? But...to throw those goals out there into the open so early in the year? No, I'm not ready to do that just yet. My mind is going a million miles an hour strategizing the next several months and I'm looking forward to new challenges.

In March I'll be racing in the Texas Independence Relay for my 9th year in a row. It's been cut down from 200 miles to 180 miles this year, which means only three legs for me and not four, and probably a max of about 16 or 17 miles total for me to run. I committed to 8:15 pace and I'm nervous and excited all at the same time to see if I can maintain that kind of pace over my three relay legs. Two weeks after the relay is my first 10K road race in nearly 6 years. My goal is to shave 5 minutes off my PR. I have a relatively slow (for me) 10K PR since I have only raced a handful of times at that distance. The weather is a crapshoot in April in Texas, however, so I'll cross my fingers and hope it cooperates and I can suck it up enough to meet my "A" goal.

The hubs pointed out something funny this morning. Because I am planning to do Boston next year, that means that my thought of running Ironman Texas is on hold right now and he's so happy about that! Truth be told, so am I! While the idea of Ironman is not off the table at all, I'm so ill-prepared to start that kind of training. It's pretty much a relief to table that craziness for at least another year.

Now enough about me...I want to talk about my husband! He's running his first marathon in July, and a goal half marathon in April, and he has already been working his butt off. I wrote up a tough training plan for him, and he's flying through it in such an impressive way. He doesn't at all question the crazy things I make him do, even if they scare him, and he totally trusts the process each week. He tells me all the details about each run and how he felt so we can adjust if necessary, being mindful of doing too much too soon and risking injury. His dedication is off the charts awesome and if he's able to continue at this with the same determination, consistency, and commitment then he has a really big shot at qualifying for Boston at his marathon. He figures if he's going to go big, he may as well go REALLY big. He's seriously a coach's dream client. He just makes me damn proud!

After spending so many years training to "finish" marathons and never committing to my true ability, it feels so good to know that I am finally a good marathoner and have the ability to get even better. Crazy fast (for me) goals no longer scare me as much as they used to, although I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. But I know if I plug away one week and one run at a time, and track my progress, and adjust where I need to, and dial in my nutrition and racing weight like I did in 2017, I'm not totally crazy for wanting these new goals. I am so thrilled at the thought of crushing my goal in Boston next year!

200 miles.....and Confusion

Not really sure where to start.

So I ran my 8th Texas Independence Relay this weekend. I committed to four legs for over 19 miles, plus the 1.15 mile prologue.

It was probably a poor choice to commit to that many miles, but we had several runners that were not 100% and I felt like I didn't have any nagging issues that could prevent me from being a workhorse over the course of the relay.

Well....

I blew up. I did all the miles I said I was going to do, and I averaged 9:31 pace over my four legs. But it should have been much faster and much easier for me. My last two legs were the two slowest legs I have ever run in all eight years of this relay, at 9:49 and 10:20 pace. I'm so disappointed in myself and so confused as to what went wrong.

Two days later, my legs feel pretty good. Although I had a bit of IT band tightness in the late hours of the relay, and my quads were unusually sore going into my fourth leg, I have recovered well and my IT band is giving me zero issues right now. I am, however, very sick with a cold that started coming on Sunday night. I don't want to make the excuse that I was coming down with something and that's why I suddenly couldn't run well anymore. I suppose it's possible, but it still frustrates me.

I ate well. I hydrated very well. I rested better than I expected during our break overnight. I don't think I was particularly tired or cranky.

I just totally blew up.

I ran 8:53 pace and 9:06 pace for my first two legs, and while it wasn't particularly easy to hold those paces, I was steady and determined and not overtaxed despite the warm weather. I had high hopes for the my third leg, which was at 1:00am in much cooler weather. Usually my overnight leg is my strongest and with it being only 4.13 miles I thought I might be able to run about 8:45 pace. But as soon as I started running it felt hard. I thought I was running around 9-9:15 pace but when my first mile came through it was an even 10:00. I tried speeding up in the second mile and it came in at 9:38. No way should this leg have been feeling this difficult, but I simply could not run any faster without it being a huge struggle. My van mates cheered me on when they checked on me, and all I could think of to say was "I'm running 10 minute miles and I don't know why!" They thought that was hilarious....but no. No it was not.

I wasn't the only one to struggle overnight. The humidity was getting very bad as the night progressed, although I didn't really notice it so much on my leg. The other van was feeling the effects of the weather and the miles and a couple of them needed to drop their fourth leg. I really had no choice but to suck it up for my 5 miler into downtown Houston. My legs were getting so stiff and I was honestly worried about being able to finish strong. We needed absolutely every strong mile we could get in those last legs of the relay. I wanted to do well for my team.

It was pretty ugly. I started off as conservative as I could to loosen up, but even a slow pace was hard. As the other van passed me to check on me, I told them I was running 10:30 pace and wasn't sure I could make my legs go any faster. They cared less than I did and just cheered me on.

I have never had the urge to walk on a relay leg more than I did right then, but I pushed through and forced my legs to keep running. As I crossed the pedestrian bridges over the bayou and could glimpse the skyscrapers of downtown it felt like they were so far away, even though it was less than three miles. This leg was taking so long to get through! For the first four miles I averaged about 10:15 pace but my fifth mile I slowed down considerably to 10:45 pace. I couldn't really pick it up very much when I turned the corner for the last minute of the run down Smith Street to the exchange.

The best way to describe my last leg was that it was every bit as hard as the last five miles in a difficult marathon, and the way I felt after I finished that last leg was exactly like how I feel coming down the finish chute after a marathon. I was completely spent, totally sore, unable to breathe, and miserable.

Thinking back on it now, two days later, and I'm still pretty perplexed as to what happened. Is it obvious I'm totally disappointed in myself?

I need to shake this disappointment and move on. My team did pretty well for having so many people struggling with injury and training problems, with it being in the mid-80s and sunny during the afternoon runs, and with having to shuffle some of the legs around. We finished earlier than expected (barely!) and nobody was really hurt (at least not anymore than when we started!), and we had a great time. But I always want to be a workhorse (even if I'm the slowest workhorse).

Good God, I need to shut up.

However, at the end of the day, the Texas Independence Relay is still the best race of the year, even if it's the most exasperating. Lots of great moments. Lots of crazy moments. Lots of moments that fall under the category of "what happens on the relay stays on the relay."

Another race...and Uncertainty

After 16 days off running.....SIXTEEN FREAKING DAYS....I ran the Houston Half Marathon. I actually didn't do all that bad, either!

Because there was still some uncertainty on my foot injury, I knew going into the half marathon that it could once again be one of my slowest ever, but I was okay with that. A weekend in Houston is always good therapy and I love the race. If it was going to require a lot walking to get that medal, then so be it.

Somehow I ended up in a fast corral. I guess I must have been feeling really good when I registered for the race, because they put me in a corral where the slowest pace was 9:00/mile. My goal for the race had dropped to about a 2:15, so I was going to be around a lot of fast people. I contemplated moving back to the next corral (where a few of my friends were), but decided to stay where I was and just stay off to the side of the road so people could pass me easily.

The race started off great. The energy in Houston is just awesome and after taking so much time off I actually felt fairly rested. I figured that feeling would pass eventually so I enjoyed it while I had it.

Within a half mile I felt twinges in my heel but thankfully those passed as I got warmed up and I was having no heel pain for many many miles. My goal was to make it 3 miles without having to take a walk break, but those miles passed without incident so I kept going. I was running about a 9:25 pace and feeling just fine.

Did I mention the weather was PERFECT?? In the low 40s and it would stay in the 40s for the entire race.

My next goal was to make it to 5 miles. Still no pain, so I decided the halfway point would be good. Still no pain!!

Wow....things were going well for me! I was still maintaining a good pace and got through the halfway point in just under 1:03. A far cry from my glory days, but far better than I expected for the day.

I decided to hold back just a bit in the second half so I wouldn't get caught up in the race environment and overdo it. I didn't feel pain in my heel until about the 15K point. I decided at that moment that I would take 1 minute walk breaks about every mile until the end of the race. At 10 miles I walked for 1 minute, then started back up into a jog. Funny enough, I was running well enough that mile 10 was still under 10 minute pace. At mile 11, I took another walk break and lo and behold it happened to be right by the beer tents.

Now, I've never drank beer during a race before but being that this was no ordinary race for me, I had to try something new. Beer for Steph!

Somehow, despite two shots of beer and a walk break I still ran 9:30 for that mile.

At this point there are less than 2 miles to go and I'm feeling a bit better so I decide to just finish up this race. I was feeling my IT band and my heel a bit during those miles, but I didn't speed up much at all and kept a very fast cadence to minimize the impact.

I finished the race in 2:04:53 and I was thrilled! Basically anything under 2:15 would've thrilled me. Best part was that heel pain was minimal....at least right then it was.

By that evening I was in pain again. And more pain the next day....and the next. By Thursday I was in my podiatrist's office so we could get an MRI scheduled. Although it still wasn't likely I had a fracture, it wasn't out of the question, and I could possibly have a tear. Or it could be the original diagnosis of inflammation and tendinitis.

I got lucky. My MRI (which, by the way, because of our lovely insurance, cost me $800 out of my own pocket) showed NO DAMAGE! It was pretty incredible news considering the amount of pain I was in. All my tendons were intact and there was no sign of a stress fracture. It was, in fact, really bad inflammation.

What does this mean for me? It means I still take time off from impact exercise and then reintroduce it slowly. I need to focus on stretching and strength training so I can avoid this problem in the future. I get to use an anti-inflammatory gel for awhile to see if the nerve settles down, and if it doesn't then I can get a shot. It also means I still made the right decision to pull out of New Orleans Ironman 70.3. That race is 11 weeks away, which sounds like a lot of time but in reality, with injury rehab the most important thing, it's just not a smart choice. There will be other 70.3 races for me to choose from in the future.

In the midst of all of this, I have actually been dealing with other health issues and I admit it does have some bearing on my decision to reduce my future training for the time being. I have been having a lot of bad side effects from an anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medication I have been on for about two years, most notably severe fatigue. At first I attributed my symptoms to stress and possibly low thyroid function (I only have half of my thyroid). After getting my health insurance screening done last month and seeing in black and white that my health has definitely gone downhill as compared to a year ago, I knew that getting a full workup of my blood was in order, which I had done Monday. My results came in yesterday and almost all my numbers actually look great. My thyroid is functioning well, and my other numbers, with the exception of one, are all within normal range (the one bad reading is a whole other story! I am a mess)

So....the culprit is my medication. I have to go off of it and try a different one. Then I need to reverse the damage it has done to my body. I had anticipated this possibility so I had already started weaning myself off. I took my last pill Monday and am having some pretty bad withdrawals today. Now I hope that I see a positive change physically over the next few weeks. The fatigue was debilitating on some days.

I am also going back to my gastroenterologist. I have a condition called eosinophilic esophagitis that I have had since childhood (although it wasn't diagnosed until 2009). It means that a particular type of white blood cell (eosinophils) are attacking the tissue in my esophagus and creating strictures. I can't swallow anything other than very small pills and food will sometimes get stuck. It can be quite scary. In 2009 I had two endoscopies with esophageal dilatation to help correct the problem, but after so many years it has become necessary for me to repeat the procedure. My blood work over the years has shown a slow increase in my eosinophils and Monday's blood work was no different. It's the highest it has been in awhile. Scheduling my procedure needs to be a priority.

It is a lot to take in a short period of time, that's for sure. But actually having answers today makes me feel so much better about where I am headed. Taking charge of my health is a positive step. Racing is absolutely not an important part of the next few months, and it shouldn't be (one caveat....I am doing the relay in April....DUH...seven years in a row!). Time in the gym to strengthen my muscles and focusing on my eating habits are my top priority. After I feel like I have made progress, my injuries have resolved themselves, and I feel stronger, then I can decide what the future holds for my racing "career."

Ironically, I just read an article about reasons why you SHOULD NOT race. It's like it was speaking directly to me and just reinforced the decisions that I've made in the last couple weeks. Big weight off my shoulders, that's for sure!

Next Steps

Damn injuries.

It's my own fault. I knew it was coming. I tried to fix it before it got too bad. But I didn't rest. After all, I was signed up for races that I really wanted to complete. No regrets, but I'm still frustrated.

One of these races was the New Years Double. I would be doing the Double Double, which was four different races over 2 days, a 5K and either a half marathon or full marathon on each day. Since I'm only "half" crazy I went the Double Double Half route. I knew from the beginning that my times weren't going to be super speedy. I was training to finish these races, not set PR's. After all, it's 32.4 miles over 2 days and I'm not an ultra runner. That is some serious mileage for me.

In the months leading up to the race I just wasn't feeling like myself. I had also signed up for the Houston Marathon on January 17, but decided awhile back to drop to the half marathon. I felt sluggish, was under a lot of stress, had not been focused on strength training like I should have been, and just wasn't feeling like a full marathon was a smart choice. But I really wanted to complete the New Years Double. Running double long runs of no more than 12 miles wasn't intimidating to me like a single 20 miler would be, and in all honestly the training went fairly well. My times were slower than in recent years, but I was able to get through the long runs okay.

But I was having nagging pains that frustrated me. I assumed I was developing Achilles tendinitis, so I tried rolling, trigger point, and stretching and I kept most of the problems at bay. I was still nervous about how Day 2 of the New Years Double would go.

I got through the race. I finished. Day 2 was fairly ugly. The pain after Day 1 was pretty significant and I won't lie by saying I wasn't fearful my Achilles would snap in two during Day 2. It didn't, but at some points it sure felt like it might.

Day 1 I actually posted respectable times. The 5K was long due to a direction error by a volunteer and I'm pretty pleased with my 8:35 pace over 3.4 miles. My half marathon was 9:25 pace. But there was an incredible amount of discomfort after those races. I ran my slowest 5K ever on Day 2 (intentionally), and my second slowest half marathon. I decided that in order to reduce the impact to my heel, I would run for only 10 minutes at a time and then walk for 1 minute. This plan worked very well and my running pace was respectable. As the race progressed, my quads definitely started getting sore and it was harder and harder to start back up with running after my walk breaks, but my heel wasn't giving me a whole lot of trouble towards the end.

Did I mention it was brutally cold both days? And windy!

I made it through 33 miles and earned my Double Double medals. It remained to be seen at what cost, however.

Done with all four races

Eve race medals

My friend Melinda ran the same races as me

The day after the race was probably the worst as far as pain and swelling. I noticed, however, that the pain was more on the medial side of my heel rather than being right on my Achilles, and that worried me even more. If it was truly tendinitis I would assume my pain would be centered on the back side of my heel. So now I was worried about a stress fracture. Needless to say, I called my podiatrist and made an appointment.

Luckily, no fracture was detected on x-rays and based on the swelling and pain location, it was most likely an inflamed nerve that runs along that part of the calcaneus bone. I was ordered to rest it, use ibuprofen, and ice. I likely also had a touch of tendinitis, but that wasn't a huge concern since with rest it can easily be rectified. Being the distance runner that I am, however, I of course asked the doctor if I could still "run" the Houston Half Marathon on the 17th. He told me that if my pain and swelling was gone, and if I listened to my body, that would be okay. If I still had pain after the race that worried me, we could schedule an MRI to get more answers and a more definitive treatment plan.

What does all this mean for my upcoming races? I have Houston on the 17th, which is a "go," although it will probably once again be very slow. I then was going to be ramping up my training for the New Orleans Ironman 70.3. Right before New Orleans is my 7th Texas Independence Relay. After that my schedule is open.

Coming off a sluggish season and nagging injuries, however, I decided that ramping up for a half ironman was not smart. My focus has to be on correcting my imbalances and getting stronger. Putting the pressure of a huge race on my shoulders would cause me unneeded stress. I don't want to just "finish" my first 70.3. I want to finish it strong and in top shape. This wouldn't be the case if I forced myself to complete New Orleans.

I hate the idea of not doing the race. So many people from my team are competing and it was going to be so much fun. I will miss the excitement and camaraderie. I will miss a good vacation to New Orleans with the husband. But in return I will be able to come back stronger and ready for the training that a 70.3 requires.

Down but never out! 

Houston is so good to me

It's crazy to me to think of how many marathons I've completed since my first one in 2009. This past weekend I headed to Houston for the 4th time to tackle the Chevron Houston Marathon and complete my 11th marathon overall. It's been the site of two marathon distance PRs to me, and although this particular marathon wasn't about chasing PRs, I knew the race would be good to me anyway.

Leading up to the marathon, I have to admit that I was having a difficult time being excited about it. My training was going fine, but with all the other stress going on around me it was hard to focus. I just wasn't excited about racing a marathon at all, and actually contemplated dropping down to the half marathon. But I decided to stick with my plan and do my best, but not put too much pressure on myself. I suppose I could PR this race with good weather conditions, but I did not make that my goal.

I again opted to stay in the host hotel closest to the expo and finish area and only a few blocks from the start. I was able to check in very early on Saturday, which was a nice surprise. I enjoyed a day spent at the expo, eating some yummy food, napping, and getting prepared for race day. My running buddy was in the same boat as me mentally about this race. We had both PR'd the year before but neither of us wanted that kind of pressure this year. We wanted to enjoy ourselves with a decent but manageable race, not hit the wall, and still feel pretty good at the finish. If a great race time resulted that would be a big bonus, but it wasn't the "A" goal. I knew that if we maintained about a 10 min pace, not difficult for us, and be able to hold it in those later miles (anything can happen!), then I'd still end up with my 2nd best time and he'd have his third best. At the very least I wanted to beat my SLO Marathon time of 4:25. And I really didn't want to walk at all!

Race morning arrived and conditions were perfect. Temps in the 40s, to rise to the upper 50s by the time we finished, with hopefully minimal sun hiding behind the high clouds. It really was a PR day and a PR course for those gunning for that goal. I had high hopes that my sub-4:22 goal was truly possible.

We started at a very conservative 10:20 pace for that first mile, with the plan to drop to about 10:00 min pace for the remainder of that first 5K. The timing mats come at every 5K so I always break up this race in those small chunks. With the next few 5K splits I wanted to keep the pace just under 10:00 in case I needed to slow for the final few miles. If I could accomplish that, then the 4:22 would be mine.

To make a long story short, that is exactly what we did. After a 10:07 overall pace first 5K, we kept our 5K splits just hovering below 10:00 pace....9:49, 9:55, 9:58, etc. At the halfway point we were at 2:10:23, which is about a 9:57 pace. But it wasn't all that comfortable. I wasn't overtaxing my body and I wasn't breathing heavy, and my legs were working fine, but things definitely weren't easy. I had to use a lot of mental energy to keep myself moving. I focused on anything I could to keep my mind off what was still left on the course to run. I watched the spectators, I sang the songs on my iPod, I counted down the kilometers markers (so much easier than waiting for mile markers). I wasn't really having the kind of fun I usually have in Houston and it was disappointing. But I was determined to keep moving and to not slow down.

I had quite a few good miles in there in the 9:40-9:50 range, so my overall pace was creeping every-so-slightly downward as I approached the later miles. Tony, my running buddy, patiently ran the first 22 miles with me and was feeling very good, so he scooted ahead of me with just 4 miles to go. I kept him in my sights but I knew it wasn't wise to speed up with him. I just needed to focus on maintaining as best as I could. Mile 23 was around 10:20 and Mile 24 was 10:12 so I was slipping on my pace slightly, but not badly at all. With only 2.2 miles to go I tried to speed up again and I had a great final push, going back below 10:00 pace and even hitting 8 minute pace for the final 1/4 mile of the race. Once I was on Lamar Street for the last mile my mood lifted. I didn't hit the wall, I was moving well, albeit in a lot of pain, and I was going to finish the race well under my goal.

As I crossed the finish line and saw that I ran a 4:21:05 I was elated.

My 2nd fastest marathon. My slowest miles were 10:20, which is the best that I've ever done in any marathon including my PR race (which had a 10:30+ mile). My splits were ridiculously consistent. I ran the second half only 19 seconds slower than the first half, which is so negligible that it can be said I ran even half splits. I wanted a consistent effort and I delivered. I have to focus on these positives!!

In the days following the race, I felt pretty crippled. I think this was the worst I'd felt after a marathon. My IT band and leg muscles ached horribly, and the nausea and exhaustion was a bit disconcerting. It does make me question why I do this stuff, that's for sure. I have 3 months until my next marathon, the SLO Marathon on April 26. I need a stronger core, stronger hips, and hill repeats will be added into my workouts soon. I want to feel decent following what will be my toughest marathon (so many hills!!).

Ah, Houston....you are GOOD....but OUCH!

Positives and Negatives

My training has kind of been all over the place this summer. After my April marathon I knew that I would be drastically cutting back on my running so I could focus on cycling and swimming more, in the hopes I'd get up the nerve to sign up for another triathlon. Last summer was very rough on me and I knew I needed to do something different.

It's been good and bad.

First....the positives....

I have really enjoyed my Saturday bike rides with my triathlon group. Sometimes I stick to the group, sometimes I branch off with one or two others, sometimes I end up solo. But it's been fun and challenging and a really nice break from the difficulty of running in the summer weather. I don't typically have too much trouble cycling for two or three hours in the heat. I've noticed that I've gained a lot of strength and comfort with my cycling over the course of the past few months.

As for swimming, I was very reluctant to get back in the pool. I just wasn't a great swimmer last year, although I improved dramatically over the summer. My first few swim workouts this year were pretty mediocre and it was a bit frustrating to me. But the last few weeks have been completely different. It's like something just clicked in the pool and I now feel like a real swimmer. I've gotten compliments on my form and ability, and that just makes me feel very good about my progress. I felt strong and comfortable during my first triathlon last week, and I'm feeling confident going into my next one at the end of September.

I loved competing in my first triathlon and can't wait to see how I do during a full triathlon season next year. I haven't picked my races yet, but I do plan to do several throughout the season. I want to be a real local competitor in the sport.

But there have been negatives....

My running. It kinda sucks. I'm battling plantar fasciitis and that is discouraging, but it has improved in the last couple weeks. I am struggling greatly in the heat and humidity, but I'm thankful this summer has been much better than the past few years. Except for August. August has been atrocious. Some workouts have gone very well, but my "long" runs have not gone well at all. The longest run I've had since April is 7 miles, which was my choice and I don't regret that choice at all, but I do think it's putting me at a disadvantage going into marathon training. I'm going to suck it up and keep increasing my mileage slowly, and know that with the cooler temps around the corner I'll be feeling much better.

I have two marathon in the coming season, Houston on January 18 and San Luis Obispo on April 26. These are the same marathons I ran this year and I'm looking forward to improving upon my times in 2015. Both are awesome races, but they're completely different from each other and involve very different racing strategies. Also, with them 3 months apart, I have a long training cycle...37 weeks. But I did it this year, and ran my two fastest marathons so far, so I'm confident I can hang in there and hopefully be just as successful. Most importantly, I want to enjoy the whole journey!

I'm trying to focus more on the positives. My marathon training group starts up on Saturday and for the fifth year I'll be coaching. It's always better for me to be surrounded by inspiring athletes every Saturday morning. One step at a time...I'll get my running mojo back!

2014...Decisions Decisions!

6 weeks into the new year and my race plans are starting to come together for the year. I've tried to force myself not to commit to anything else in the first half of the year, however.

This weekend is the Austin Half Marathon, a race I haven't run since it was my very first race in 2008. Since then I've run the Austin Marathon five years in a row, so I knew that 2014 would be a good break from the full course and instead go back to where I fell in love with running and racing. It's not an "A" race, meaning I won't be attempting a PR. Austin is not an easy course, and I have not been training to run a sub 8:30 pace half. I'd still like to do well and to feel good, so I'll run hard regardless. Then I get to cheer on my Round Rock Fit runners at Mile 26 of the full course. Some of them are running their very first full marathon and for the first time since I started coaching, I'm going to be there cheering for them as they finish up that last mile.

Next month is my fifth year running in the Texas Independence Relay, and that race will serve as training for my April marathon in San Luis Obispo. It's a lot of tough running coming up, and my focus really needs to be on keeping my endurance up and staying in marathon shape.

I've gotten back on my bike and back in the pool, although with hesitation. I've only swam twice since October, and am happy to say I don't think I lost too much of my form, although my speed (of which I had little) has suffered. It will take time to get my comfort back, but I'll slowly peck away at it. This past Saturday I did my first outdoor ride in a very long time and I forgot how tough hills can be in cycling! It was a good ride, but slow and fairly difficult. I'm going to continue to try to incorporate rides into my schedule in the next few months.

I will not be doing long distance over the summer like I did last summer. I need the break during the hottest months. Instead I'll be getting on my bike more and keeping the runs under 90 minutes. There won't be any crazy 30K trail runs in my racing schedule this year!

A triathlon is still in the cards, but I haven't picked exactly which ones I will do. And I won't make that decision until April or May. I need to focus on my upcoming races, especially my marathon, and I need to get more comfortable being back on my bike and in the pool before I decide what race is right for me. I can't have the distraction of committing to a triathlon in my head just yet. A lot of people want to know what races I'm going to do and I simply can't answer that question yet.

The only late year race I had in my plans was running the BCS half marathon again in December. I had so much fun running it in 2013 that I couldn't resist the early registration price and signed up. I will be committing to running the Houston marathon again for January 2015 and early registration for that is in May (I'm thrilled my qualifying time from January 2013 is still valid!). But otherwise, I planned to put the breaks on any race registrations.

BUT THEN.....

My friend Tricia asked me to join a relay team.

Not just ANY relay...a TRAIL RELAY. In October. In Texas Hill Country.

A SPONSORED trail relay in October in Texas Hill Country. That's right...I'd be part of a team sponsored by Nuun. 

How could I say no to that? Tricia is one of my best friends, I know she'll put together a great team, and relays are my favorite kinds of races. The answer was an almost immediate yes.

The more I read about this race, the more excited I get. Three different trail loops of differing terrain and distances that every team member runs, a central Ragnar Village location where we hang out, camp, and have fun. Right now we have 5 of our 8 members picked and I love each and every one of the women on the team.

SO....

I really REALLY won't be committing to anything else until April!

REALLY.

So stop asking.